Raistlin Majere is the greatest mage to grace the face of Krynn in hundreds of years, and arguably the greatest ever. His power is second to none. His beginings were humble, his life a torturous display of youthful cruelty. In The Soulforge Raistlin's life is finally told in detail. His early years had been something of a mystery as was the terrible Test he endured in the name of magic.

Born and raised in the town of Solace in Abanasinia, Raistlin grew up raised mostly by his older half-sister, Kitiara. His father was a woodcutter and his mother was somewhat of a lunatic, supposedly because of the magic power she held and did not know how to use. His twin brother, Caramon, who was gifted with strength and popularity, was a key in his self-pity. The ridicule of the other children certainly did nothing to prevent his future bitterness.

Raistlin was allowed to attend a school of magic located near Solace when he was 6 years old. His tuition was paid by his recruiter, a white-robed mage named Artimodes. His troubled youth did not ease by his attendance at the school. The youth there were no better than the rambunctious children in Solace. Unexpectedly Raistlin was allowed to take his Test at a very young age. The younest to ever take the Test.

The Test tore Raistlin apart body and soul. When he emerged his skin was gold tinged, a sort of magical ward. His health was shattered from the rigors of the Test and to top it off he was cursed with hourglass-shaped pupils through which he sees all things die. The Council of Three had seen it as a way to show him compassion. I believe it even deepened his self-destructive self-pity. They granted him the Staff of Magius, a very old, very powerful magical artifact, as a reward after the Test.

Raistlin was then part of the fabled Companions of the Lance. A red robed mage then, he was one of the mighty heros whose goal was the overthrow of Takhisis's attempt to take the world. He fought valiantly throughout the war until the party entered Silvanesti, the elven land torn apart by the mistakes of its king, Lorac. Once entering the nightmare realm of Silvanesti, the party was in great danger and to save them Raistlin agreed with a higher power, commonly believed to be Fistandantilus, to become a black-robed mage in exchange for the power to finish the mission in Silvanesti. After this Raistlin is found again in his black robes in the Temple of Takhisis in Neraka close to the end of the War of the Lance.

After the War ends and things grow more relaxed, Raistlin enters the Tower of High Sorcery in Palanthas as "the master of past and of present". After time in the Tower, Raistlin travels back through time in an attempt to ascend to Godhood. His brother Caramon, Tasslehoff, and Lady Crysania travel back in time also but for different reasons. Raistlin manipulates the three heros and uses them as pawns in his plot to become a god. In the end Caramon shows him the future of Krynn if he succeeds and Raistlin, for fear of living in that hell of a future, halts his plans and is taken by Takhisis.

Raistlin returns in Dragons of Summer Flame to assist his nephew, Palin Majere, and the others in the defense of Krynn from the forces of Chaos. When the battle is over, Raistlin leaves with Fizban, possibly going elsewhere to become a god or to simply continue his everlasting sleep. Regardless of the reason, Raistlin is never seen again but his name is still known on Krynn, and will probably be forever.